Internship Begins...

It's a busy, frenetic time...  The van is here, my business logo is in final stages of design,  massage internship has begun, Kinesiology and Pathology homework is piling up, Peru "holiday" awaits,  the Thanksgiving and Christmas required travel is near, my cats need a forever home...

so... my thoughts today are merely:

SIMPLIFY!  LIVE SMALL!     (If I can do it, anybody can do it.)

and... when I can't drive this anymore, a Tumbleweed Tiny House would be just perfect!

From Flat to 3D - in 3 days!

So I visited my van yesterday, and probably will do that again over the next week before I go to be with my mother for an important visit. Seeing the floor plan on paper is one thing, but watching it grow UP - into counters, a closet, a slideout pantry, overhead storage, - the shower - !! is mind blowing. I have also realized this morning that having this positive focus to ruminate over and plan with, is providing me therapeutic and helpful mind space to rest from the anxiety and sadness over Jane Gay's aging and continual physical decline from her long battle with Parkinson's Disease.

I also met with a local graphic design artist yesterday and hope to get started on logo work for the business and website as early as next week.

This week's photos:
Cabinet bases are in along with the flooring and storage cabinets overhead. The bathroom will be built out shortly and it was fun to visit the bathroom window. Work underway under the bed/couch includes two batteries, the water tank (I think) and a bit of storage. The long counter is cut and waiting patiently outside in the shop to be installed. More soon!

 

EARLY FINISH!!

A brief VAN update:

I am told that the van should be ready at Sportsmobile of Austin on October 7th!  (Paradoxically, also on my mother's birthday.)  This is about 3 weeks ahead of the original estimate.

So I am glad that I started early this summer, stashing away a few small organizational items here and there, to be ready for its first solo trip.  (you know, the important stuff;  a small corkscrew, unbreakable wine glasses, new towels, small food storage containers,flashlight, etc!).

So:  the Big Question is:  Where shall we go first for a trial-run weekend???

• Bastrop State Park?
• Marfa?
• Kerrville?
• Port A?

 
 

A Milestone Reached in The "Transportation Department"

Nearly 5 months ago, I committed to the purchase of a Sportsmobile (a customized conversion van) as a bridge to my "pre-retirement". 
Today, I wrote a very big check, and the van shell is now safely in the hands of Paul Meyer, President of Sportsmobile Austin, and the customization of the interior will now begin. 

We tweaked the floor plan a bit this morning, now that I have a need to store massage equipment and supplies for the business.  The van is BIG... and it's beautiful... and I will be able to visit it as needed during its birth cycle at the shop, as we get closer to completion in October, and small things can be added or changed.  What a luxury to have Sportsmobile right here in Austin.

(Do I want handholds, and where?  Do I want a small portable table, or a large one?  Do I need to rearrange the locations of the LED lighting?  etc.  It's great that minor (but important) details can still be fiddled with,  before final delivery.  I can't say enough about how great Paul and his team have been to work with, during this large (did I say nerve-wracking?) decision process.)

I couldn't help but take a bunch of pictures today.  It will be a lot more interesting once the "comforts of home" are added - but this will give a "before" and "after" view.  The photo below also shows how long the thing is (and side windows will be added, of course).

Meanwhile, back at massage school, we are nearly a third of the way through.  I haven't flunked out yet - !  I love it - despite the more and more frequent (and brutal!) anatomy exams.  Only 6 months to go, come Labor Day.  YEAH!  In an upcoming post, I will extoll the virtues of the dedicated massage studio, now ready at the house.

Going back to NATURAL

So: I am now back to near-normalcy, living in the front half of my house, vs living in the whole house, previously.  Now, I won't lie; the cement floor grinding and staining process was hell.  However, I do like the results.

Moving my bedroom into the studio has been interesting.  The first few nights going to sleep looking at my design wall led to some really weird dreams - some which had absolutely nothing to do with quilt art. But, I digress...

I have reached the 25% mile marker with massage school, definitely a decision I have not regetted.  March 1st graduation will come quickly, and I am beginning to draft the business plan, and to contact potential art workshop venues to determine their interest in an on-site massage therapist.  One of our recent fabulous teachers is very schooled in alternative and natural body treatments,, and his first 4 hour class was really quite overwhelming!  With all of the of great information he presented,   I felt like I had come full circle, from when I went to nursing school in Vermont in the 70's (during my Mother Earth period), then spent 30+ years in public and private sector to make a living, and then, Whoa --->  2011, a SHARP left turn back to starting up a health and wellness business.  Hooray.  It feels like being back home...

Tonight I mixed a half-recipe of our instructor's natural lip balm (just Shea butter, olive oil, and lavender oil - yum).  Great stuff!!  Getting back to this focus on health and wellness has also given me the seeds of another idea for a sideline business venture.  (More on this soon!)  Meanwhile, I have got to get into the studio, and get back to sewing again.  It's time.

Simplicity and Stress Reduction - Gaining Momentum

This week I have made some major decisions about my living situation and the path to next spring, when I expect to manage an income stream from bodywork.

Decision 1:  Get the master suite ready, in anticipation of the need to house-share.

Decision 2:  Rip up the carpets and stain the concrete - which should be complete by mid-July.

Decision 3:  Divest myself of the Ethan Allen furniture circa 1984 from a marriage that has been over for more than 22 years...

In anticipation of the major mess next week during the flooring re-do, and the need to empty rooms of furniture, books, and life's ephemera, I felt a major weight lift when I said to myself: "What if I DIDN'T need to hire someone to help me put all the heavy stuff back?  Why don't I just let it all go?"  Whoa.

Stuff.  It's just stuff.  (which Jay reminded me, last night)  I am moving forward to the next chapter, now, and I actually can't wait to have some breathing room for FOCUS.  I do crave the simplicity, and in the meantime, it is also what I HAVE to do.  (I accept that I need help financially, and that I must share my space with another.)

Goodbye stuff; you've been great to look at - and now I don't need you anymore.  Go forth and bring satisfaction to another!

Persistence: Massage School, and Anne's Piecework

During a break from school this week, I spent a few days with my good friend Anne Parker in Kerrville.  As I drove home to Austin across the parched Hill Country, I thought about the parallels between machine piecing and hitting the books again in "later life".    Anne is a perfect example of tenacity in piecing, as well as an artist with an exquisite eye for color gradations - as you can see by these photos of two of her quilts' currently on view at the Kerrville Art and Cultural Center through the end of July.  It's a joy to have good friends who are also addicted to this passion for creating work at the sewing machine.  What does it take to create successful large compositions with the building blocks of such tiny pieces? I say it's persistence, and lots of repetition; practice.

Same thing with school.  I never thought I'd be going back to school at this ripe "old" age, but persistence will get me through.  And I must say, us Aries women have really gotten this persistence thing down. So anyway, seeing Anne's work this weekend reminded me that we're lucky to have this community of persistent seekers - whether it's women artists, or fellow students at massage school.

 

Mapping out the Way Forward

Well, it's exciting and daunting at the same time.  I have 7+ months to set up the business plan for this next stage of my non-corporate life.  Between now and April 2012, For those who have not heard, I am back in school for massage therapy, which will build on my prior nursing background and also my years of experience in the business arena. 

I will be offering onsite therapy services targeted at the artist community, taking this service on the road to selected artist workshops, retreats, art and craft schools, and the like.  At the same time, I will be able to stay connected with the fiber world, and my friends in this sphere.  I will also be working on my own art quilts as I move about.  So here we go!

As they say: Plan the work, work the plan....